Five questions families have asked us — and the answers they got from people who’d already done it.
Some of the most useful things on this site were never written by us. They’re questions families sent in, and the answers other travellers gave them.
Here are five that come up again and again. The questions and replies are as they were sent.
Several of these touch on registration, exemptions and what each state requires. Those rules change, and they differ depending on where you are. Use these as a sense of what’s possible and what other families tried — then check the current requirements with the education department in your own state before you make any decisions.
The five questions
- “My eldest would be starting high school. Should we wait?”
- “NSW registration seems to need a home address. What do travellers do?”
- “I’m meeting the principal about a 12-month exemption. How do I prepare?”
- “Only one term away. Is Distance Ed overkill?”
- “We’re migrating and travelling first. Will the kids fall behind a year?”
- What we’d say, having read hundreds of these
“My eldest would be starting high school. Should we wait?”
Monica, Tasmania
Hi, My husband and I are currently weighing up all our options to get on the road next year (2020) and travelling Aussie with the kids. My boys will be 12 & 9 by then and although I am fine with my 9 year old being home schooled by me I am concerned about my 12 year old. It would of been his first year in high school (we are from Tassie) and I am not sure that its a good idea to do the trip that year based on that!! Are there any families out there who have, or are currently travelling with older children, and if so what is their take on educating kids that age?
Thanks for your time. Monica
Mia replied:
Of all the years of high school, I would think year 7 would be the best one to miss.
Have you looked into distance ed rather than home schooling? May be better option if you worry about them missing curriculum. Your child will learn so much from travelling and to build a really strong relationship with your child at this age is so important.
My husband and I are both high school teachers. I say go for it. There will always be reasons to put it off.
That last line is the one we’d underline. There will always be reasons to put it off.
Families do travel with high-school-aged kids, and several have told us the older ones managed a reduced subject load through Distance Education — including senior certificate subjects — with phone tutoring from their teachers.
“NSW registration seems to need a home address. What do travellers do?”
Vanessa, Newcastle NSW
Hi there, we are a family of 4 (kids currently 9yo and 6yo) who are planning an extended sailing trip next year, starting in Australia then continuing throughout Asia and hopefully beyond. Looking into the NSW registration process, it seems Nsw requires you to have a home address in order to register and renew your registration.
I am not that keen on distance education and being burdened with having to receive and complete the packs they provide, especially since our movements will be largely weather dependent and therefore unpredictable.
Are there other families homeschooling while travelling who can offer some tips for how to go about the registration process for travellers?
Carla replied:
Hi Vanessa,
We are from Newcastle also and head off on our lap this December. We have been through all the options also and have decided to go through Valerie at Home Schooling Australia. We will be informing the girls school that we will not be re enrolling next year and leave it at that. I’m already aware that our principal does not grant extended leave so I’m not going to even ask.
Hope you have a wonderful adventure! All the best, Carla
Karen replied:
Hi, I know you said you’re not that keen on Dist Ed, but have you tried NEPSODE? (Port Macquarie) they’re incredibly flexible with how the resources are delivered – paper based, online, USB stick! Etc! They’re really good at knowing that the trip is about your family not getting bogged down in schoolwork and they’ve got some amazing teachers that teach kids around Australia and Australian kids around the world!
Two things worth pulling out of that. First, not every Distance Education school is the same — the flexibility varies enormously, and it’s worth ringing a few. Second, principals vary just as much. Carla knew hers wouldn’t grant leave and planned around it.
“I’m meeting the principal about a 12-month exemption. How do I prepare?”
Cherie, QLD
We’re planning on doing the big lap starting March 2019 with our two girls. Our eldest will be in year 1 next year (in QLD state school system) and after some research we’ve decided taking her out of school for the 12m will suit us best. We’re going to meet with the principal of her school to ask for an exemption and would love to hear from those who’ve been in a similar situation how best to be prepared for this chat. We really want to get the OK from the school and have their support. As an aside, I’m also a trained primary school teacher though haven’t taught in a classroom for a long time.
Mandy from TAWK replied:
Hi Cherie
Thanks for your question and it’s one that many do find themselves in. We also took this option and I had 3 children in years 1, 3 and 5. Although we live in WA.
I think the best way to approach the principal is to be prepared and to show him/her what you intend to do with your child and the resources you will be using.
And from another family reading along:
Thank you so much Cherie and Mandy, We are in exactly the same situation. We have 2 boys in years 2 and 4 and plan to travel in March for 12 months. I’m meeting with the principal at school in the next few weeks so your advice is much appreciated. Fingers crossed x
Go in prepared. Don’t ask what you’re allowed to do — show them what you’re planning to do, and what you’ll be using to do it. Principals are far more receptive to a family with a plan than a family with a request.
“Only one term away. Is Distance Ed overkill?”
Kate Rollason, Brisbane
Hi, we are sailing around the Whitsundays for term 3 this year. I am trying to work out schooling and boy it feels overwhelming. The oldest is 14 and the youngest is 11. I’ve been reading as much as I can on this fantastic website, my plan was to enroll them in distance ed. but we don’t want to spend endless hours doing work when we have this small window of opportunity to explore and learn about where we are. I would love some guidance or tips if anyone else has just done a small trip as well, also I can’t guarantee we have internet coverage all the time and post offices aren’t in abundance!
Thanks Kate
A teacher replied:
As a teacher I would suggest you speak to your principal about an exemption. The learning your kids will experience on this trip will more than make up for anything they will miss at school. To get an exemption the school may request they keep a Journal or create a presentation for their class on their return.
During your trip I would involve them in reading the maps, tide charts etc. Research things of interest that you come across, such as places, animals, people.
Most importantly enjoy your trip, spending time together in the amazing Whitsundays.
That idea of a presentation for the class on their return is a good one — it gives the school something concrete, and it gives your kids a reason to pay attention along the way.
For a short trip especially, this comes up over and over: don’t take on a full Distance Education workload for one term if what you actually want is to be in the Whitsundays.
“We’re migrating and travelling first. Will the kids fall behind a year?”
Louis & Celeste Holtzhausen, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Good day, We’re moving to Australia (Perth) in January 2024 on a temporary visa (491) but looking to travel for the first 12 months around Australia while home schooling the kids (aged 6 and 9).
The current plan is to arrive in Perth, stay in Airbnb for first month then hit the road.
Understand from a number of websites that without a permanent address we will not be able to register and receive a Certificate of Education.
Question: What will the consequences be if we do not receive a Certificate of Education? Will this affect the kids (put them back a year) when we register them at a school after the 12 months.
Sincerely appreciate your help. Kind regards, Louis & Celeste
Natalie B, a teacher, replied:
The kids will be fine to enrol into a school when you are finished travelling. The school will place them in the appropriate year level for their age group. Keep up the homeschooling while travelling but don’t let it be your main focus, travelling is the main focus. Your kids will learn a lot while travelling.
And rather more briefly:
Shhhhhh don’t tell anyone you come!
Come, travel this gorgeous country, ‘school’ on the road (museums, tours, reading, talking) and then settle and enrol them in school.
The fixed-address problem is the single most common thing families hit, and it’s worth understanding why: registration processes are generally built around families who stay put, with an address on file and someone available for evaluation. That’s simply not how a travelling family lives.
We’re not going to tell you what your state requires, because it changes and it differs. Ring them and ask. But do take the reassurance in Natalie’s answer at face value — she’s a teacher, and it’s the same thing we heard from families coming off the road.
What we’d say, having read hundreds of these
Nobody’s education was ruined by a year on the road.
In the years we’ve been collecting these questions, we’ve never had a family come back and tell us it was a mistake. We’ve had plenty tell us it was the best decision they ever made.
Ask, don’t assume
Principals, Distance Education schools, teachers — the range in flexibility is enormous, and you won’t know where yours sits until you have the conversation.
Whatever you pick, you can change it
Families switch mid-trip constantly. They start with Distance Education and drop back. They stop for a term and put the kids in a local school. They pick it up again. None of it is permanent.
Check your own state, now
Everything above is what families did at the time they wrote to us. Rules change. Your state’s education department is the only place to get the current answer.
Got a question we haven’t covered? Ask the TAWK community — someone out there has already been exactly where you are.
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